Maple cream is a delicious topping for toast, scones, biscuits, and waffles, and it’s really good in a peanut butter sandwich, but it’s a bit too thick to spread on delicate pancakes. If your batch comes out a bit stiffer than you’d like, you can roll it into small balls and coat them with finely chopped nuts—instant confections, perfect for gift-giving. Or, something I’ve always wanted to try: Use it as a filling between two cookies.

The maple cream can be stored for two weeks at room temperature and up to several months in refrigeration. Theoretically, maple products are vulnerable to mold over time, so if you’re not planning to eat your maple cream right away, you should probably store it in the fridge. That said, I have never seen it go moldy. The only way a jar of maple cream would last longer than a couple of weeks in my house would be if I fell into a coma, in which case it is quite likely I would be discovered with a maple-encrusted spoon clutched in my hand.

3 cups pure maple syrup (Grade A or B)

¼ teaspoon vegetable oil (or butter), optional

1 pinch table salt, optional

1. Combine syrup, oil, and salt, if using, in medium saucepan, and cook over medium heat, without stirring, until temperature registers 235 degrees on instant-read thermometer.

2. While syrup heats, fill bottom of large bowl with ice. Place second medium saucepan on top of ice; scatter more ice around sides of saucepan. When syrup reaches 235 degrees pour into second saucepan in ice bath. Leave to cool without stirring until temperature reaches 125 degrees.